CẦN THƠ – Cần Thơ City has been focusing on promoting products recognised under the national “One Commune - One Product” (OCOP) programme at places visited by tourists to boost sales.

Instead of being sold only through traditional channels, many OCOP products such as durian, herbal smoked snails, dried young grapefruit, and goat milk are now offered at travel destinations, homestays and eco-tourism sites across the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta city.

This approach not only helps expand sales channels but also promotes the image of local agricultural products to both domestic and international visitors.

Hứa Trường Sơn, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said OCOP products would be most appealing when they are linked to people’s everyday lives, such as stories about traditional crafts that have lasted for decades.

“Each business should be able to present the story of its products articulately so that later, when promoting and connecting them with other markets, it will be much more effective.”

He called on enterprises and co-operatives to proactively contact the department’s trade management division for support in connecting and showcasing their products at OCOP display centres opened across the city.

Producers and co-operatives have created experience spaces where visitors can learn about production processes and try some of the products on site. 

Đặng Thị Ngọc Đào, owner of Ngọc Đào Goat Milk Farm in Tân Hòa Commune, is breeding nearly 300 goats, and her six products, including pasteurised goat milk, fresh yoghurt and four varieties of dried goat milk yoghurt, have achieved four-star OCOP rating.

For almost three years her farm has welcomed visitors for tours and hands-on experiences.

There, tourists can learn about the breeding and production processes and take part in activities such as feeding the goats, milking and exploring how goat milk products are made.

Đào said: “The products sell well, and the farm earns more than VNĐ200–300 million (US$7,600-11,400) a year, much better than rice farming.”

Tân Hòa Commune currently boasts 14 OCOP products, including six rated four stars and eight rated three at the provincial level, according to its Economic Division.

Nguyễn Tiến Mộng, head of the division, said the commune expected that local OCOP producers would further improve their products, increase their incomes and create more jobs.

“The commune will link existing OCOP products to form experiential tourism routes in the coming time. When tourists visit, they can explore OCOP products such as Ngọc Đào goat milk, Tám Minh honey and Hồng Nhiên coconut coffee.

“This will allow visitors to experience the commune’s OCOP products while helping these producers expand production, raise productivity, enhance the value of agricultural products after harvest, and generate more local employment.”

OCOP producers in the city are also paying increasing attention to building their brands.

Đoàn Hồng Thắm, director of Hygie & Panacee Company Limited in Tân An Ward, said the company’s instant tea products already used registered logos and packaging designs.

“We have received strong support from administrative agencies through networking events and financial assistance for brand protection. The company plans to register for intellectual property rights in several countries and hopes to continue receiving guidance and support in protecting and using these rights.”

Many other OCOP products in the city such as honey, fruit wines and dried fruits are now offered to visitors, helping farmers increase their incomes.

The city received more than 9.3 million visitors, including over four million overnight ones and 350,000 foreign tourists, in the first nine months of this year, earning more than VNĐ8 trillion ($303 million) in tourism revenues.

It has 198 OCOP products, all rated three or four stars, and aims to have 20 more in the former category this year, 10 in the latter, with at least two in the national five-star list. – VNS